malnosso | [Voice | LOCKED TO RESIDENTS]

Rin Okumura, I require your presence in the Battle Dome.

The rest of you, kindly pay attention, as I'd rather not have to repeat myself. Tomorrow morning - that is, the morning of October 1st, going by the ever-popular Earth calendar everyone seems to favour - an Artificial Shift will occur and pull you back in time, similar to the one a number of you experienced in the Zompania enclosure. Unlike that shift, however, this time you'll be going back years, not days. A few hundred, give or take. Your enclosure existed back then, more or less, but the technology level of that era was... lacking, to say the least. A few of you might remember the old days, so just imagine them older still. Establish yourselves and get comfortable, as you may be there for an extended period. This is not your typical shift, and the Malnosso are unaware of what's happening. Keep it that way.

You'll receive instructions after you arrive. I can't give you specifics because it's really up to you to make any progress, but you're a smart group. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Bring with you only what you can carry- necessities, not luxuries. If all goes according to plan, you'll return to your homes as they are now with no harm done. I can offer you no guarantees, however trust me when I say that everything you leave behind is better here rather than there.

Rise early, be prepared, try not to throw up. It's a significant jump and I can't promise it'll be a pleasant experience. I'd apologize, but it really is for your own good. Best of luck to you, and hopefully you'll fare better than those of the past did.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As much as I know of you people, and as much as I know of the past, I cannot determine with absolute certainty what you'll do there.

I am confident that you can't make things worse, however. If that is of any consolation whatsoever.

That certainly says something about the current state of affairs, if nothing else.

I can't imagine you'd need me to tell you how much of a mess the state of the world is.

Not me, no -- but I'm sure some of the newer arrivals can appreciate hearing that from someone else.

[A pause.] You must have chosen that time period for a reason. Are we arriving into something we should know about?

I can't imagine they would find someone like me a trustworthy source of information.

[He has no illusions of what people think of him, or the Malnosso, upon arriving here.]

I did choose that time specifically, yes. There are a lot of things about to happen that I would rather appreciate if you could prevent.

You offer another perspective, trustworthy or not.

[It all had to do with hearing things from differing sources, to him.]

But we don't need to know the specifics of what we may want to prevent. Yet.

[There's a dry note to his voice. They have already had the talk on the entire "need to know" logic, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't like to know.]

Not yet. I have no way of knowing for certain that your memories will be entirely intact when you arrive. That's not ideal or even particularly expected, mind you, but as a precaution, I hate having to explain things twice.

So you will be able to monitor our situation despite the time difference.

[It was an astounding thought, though he had to reason that it must seem like any other shift that John has been monitoring.

Another thought occurs to him as he remembers the mention of "the old days."]

...The barrier. Will the barrier be as restrictive as it was at our cycle's beginning?

[He won't comment on the first part, not yet. They'll find out when they get there anyway.]

More restrictive, actually. Our power sources were limited back then. You may find the entire enclosure rather lacking, so I'm sure those of that era will appreciate the help.

Improvements to said power sources.

[A task for the more technological-minded.

The restrictions ... would be interesting. Though he hadn't been particularly hampered with his minimal use of magic, he had certainly seen the differences in the restrictions from other residents.]

Will the spirits be present? Did the population know of them back then?

[Should they encourage interaction with them?]

The spirits have always existed in this world, to my knowledge. I would avoid them, personally, but I don't believe those living in your enclosure are harmful.

You would avoid them? Because they are natural shifts of some sort?

[Surmised from how the Shift Hunters could detect those who called upon them.]

Because we don't know enough about them. And what we do know is often malicious. Your enclosure's experience with Twila is evidence enough of that.

Often malicious?

[He echoes, a brow slowly rising. In a way, it made sense; Twila had to be outright sealed away due to past experiences. But their experiences had been fairly positive over the years, with the notable exceptions being the ... possession incidents.]

Then there are different spirits beyond our enclosure that are as-- self-serving as Twila?

[Self-serving. He certainly remembers that intensely selfish mindset while being possessed.]

Many, many more. Special as your enclosure is deemed to be, it isn't that special.

[Voice | LOCKED TO RESIDENTS]

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